If you're going to call us Neanderthals,

we'll start acting like them

Nuke some godforsaken Islamic state

back to the stone age

A nuclear war would do the trick in spades

The Republicans could stay in power

for the next 50 or even 100 years

Nuclear bombs have the advantage

of being much bigger, and they will

also pollute vast swathes of Iran

and make much of the country uninhabitable for years

With a bit of luck some of the fallout

will sweep into Iraq and finish off the job

the US and UK have begun

without incurring more costs

The GOP 'debate' on Thursday was a Competition to See Who Could Be the Biggest Neanderthal.

The Republican Ten seemed to be competing over: Who would stay in Iraq the longest? Who would cut taxes the deepest? Who would be alright with firing gay Americans from their jobs?

Who would jump the highest if Roe v. Wade was reversed? Who would build the biggest fence around America? Who would put an end to stem cell research the fastest? Who would reject evolution most passionately?

The problem for the Republican Party as it presented itself to the nation last night? It's at odds with the views of the American people.

By significant majorities, Americans believe in the science of evolution, don't want Roe overturned, don't want to turn back the clock on job discrimination laws, and do want to bring our troops home from Iraq.

Flashing back to the Reagan era is one thing; flashing back to the Dark Ages is quite another. Arianna Huffington

Republican Strategist: If you're going to call us Neanderthals, we'll start acting like them. Here's the plan: start a nuclear war. Bomb some godforsaken Islamic state back to the stone age.

The trouble is that the re-election of the GOP is becoming more problematic as opinion turns against George Bush's little invasion of Iraq.

Even Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah recently condemned the US action as "an illegal foreign occupation"; his nephew, Prince Bandar, hasn't been returning calls for weeks.

More worrying is the plummeting popularity of the party, as White House corruption becomes ever more difficult to disguise.

The LA Times reports that what Representative Thomas M Davis III called a "poisonous" environment has begun to dent fundraising - an unheard-of problem for the Republicans.

So the only solution is to bomb Iran, as Senator McCain so wisely and amusingly suggests.

The Republican senator was asked what should be done about Iran. He responded by singing, "Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran", to the tune of the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann.

The real issue is whether to use regular weapons or do the job properly and go nuclear.

Nuclear bombs have the advantage of being much bigger, and they will also pollute vast swathes of Iran and make much of the country uninhabitable for years.

With a bit of luck some of the fallout will sweep into Iraq and finish off the job the US and UK have begun without incurring more costs.

But the biggest advantage of nuclear weapons is that the repercussions would be so enormous, the upsurge in terrorism so overwhelming, that the world would be totally changed.

A year before 9/11, Paul Wolfowitz and Lewis "Scooter" Libby signed a statement for the Project for the New American Century, a neoconservative thinktank.

They rather hoped for "some catastrophic and catalysing event like a new Pearl Harbor" to kickstart their dream of a world run by US military might.

A nuclear war would do the trick in spades. The Republican party could expect to stay in power for the next 50 or even 100 years.

Of course, a large proportion of the human race could be wiped out in the process, but that shouldn't be a problem as long as there are anti-radiation suits for White House and Pentagon staff.

Such a shake-up would give the US a golden opportunity to corner what's left of the world's oil reserves.

In 1955 Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell said the world was faced by a "stark and dreadful and inescapable" choice: "Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?"

Senator McCain wasn't bothered by such questions; the human race may be standing on a precipice, but the Republicans have a chance of permanent re-election. Terry Jones @ Guardian